The Cain and Abel Story: Does God Play Favorites?

The Cain and Abel story in the Bible is the first example of murder. I don’t condone murder, but I’ve often found myself feeling sorry for Cain and upset with God over his treatment of Cain. God didn’t treat the brothers equally. God liked Abel’s offerings but did not like Cain’s offerings. Cain presumably worked as hard as Abel to prepare his offerings to God. God shouldn’t have been surprised that His disfavoring Cain would make Cain jealous of Abel and that the two would get into a fight. Why did God not favor Cain as He did Abel? If God had treated the brothers equally, this murder would not have occurred. All Cain wanted was to be equally loved by God. Instead God disfavored him and Cain predictably acted badly as a result thus having to bear lifelong consequences when all he wanted was equal love.

Really, Cain is not much different from many of us. What do you think?

Great one, Sue!

Too many people experience the pain of seeing siblings loved and cherished while they themselves are criticized and punished by their parents. This sort of favoritism causes many deep psychological and spiritual problems for both the disfavored and the favored children.

The story of Cain and Abel has been confronting and confounding people with that theme for thousands of years. And yet, it is an ancient, mythical story that has many more layers of meaning than what appears on the surface. The deeper we look, the more clearly we can understand the mysterious ways of God.

For now, let’s look at it on four levels, as a story in which:

God acts like a seriously flawed human parent.

God acts like an intelligent, experienced leader.

God acts like . . . well . . . God!

There are deeper meanings about our spiritual journey.

I hope that by the time we’re finished, the Cain and Abel story will be more meaningful to you . . . and less infuriating!

The Cain and Abel story

First, let’s get the story itself, from Genesis 4:1–16. Since the exact words are often important when interpreting Bible stories, here is a fairly literal translation, which also conveys some of the poetic flair of the original Hebrew:

And the man knew his wife Eve. And she conceived and bore Cain, and said, “I have acquired a man with Jehovah.” And in addition she bore his brother, Abel.

And Abel was a shepherd of sheep, and Cain was a tiller of the ground. And in the course of time Cain brought to Jehovah an offering from the fruit of the ground. And Abel, he also brought from the firstborn of his sheep, their fat portions. And Jehovah had regard for Abel and his offering, but he had no regard for Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his face fell.

And Jehovah said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. His desire is for you, and you must rule over him.”

And Cain said to his brother Abel . . . . And it happened, when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him.

And Jehovah said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”

And he said, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?”

And he said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the ground! And now you are cursed from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you till the ground, it will no longer yield to you its strength; you will be a fugitive and a wanderer on the land.”

And Cain said to Jehovah, “My sin is greater than I can bear! See, you have driven me out today from the face of the ground, and I will be hidden from your face. And I will be a fugitive and a wanderer on the land, and anyone who finds me will kill me.”

And Jehovah said to him, “Therefore whoever kills Cain will suffer a sevenfold vengeance.” And Jehovah put a mark on Cain so that anyone who found him would not kill him. And Cain went out from the presence of Jehovah and lived in the land of Nod [meaning “wandering”], east of Eden.

What if God was one of us?

What if God up in heaven really were just like any ordinary old human being? (Yes, I know, that’s not quite what the song meant, but it’s a thought-provoking song.) What if God really were a flawed but massively powerful superhuman like the ancient Greek and Roman gods and goddesses? What if God really did get jealous and angry, play favorites, and do all the other ordinary human things people have attributed to God for thousands of years? What if God really were like the God portrayed in the Old Testament?

Of course, that’s not how God really is. It’s just how God appears to us—and the Bible has to talk to us in language that we ordinary, flawed human beings can understand. (See “How God Speaks in the Bible to Us Boneheads.”)

But just for a moment, let’s imagine that God actually is an ordinary, not very enlightened slob like one of us. Here’s how the Cain and Abel story would go:

Cain has the brilliant idea of bringing God an offering. Nobody’s ever done that before!

If you were Cain, wouldn’t you be angry? Wouldn’t you be jealous of your brother? “Why does God love Abel more than me?!?”

This is how millions of people do, in fact, read the story of Cain and Abel. That’s only natural, since many people have experienced favoritism from their parents. Many still bear the scars of that disturbing childhood experience.

Even the favored children are damaged by parents who play favorites. Instead of having the sense of satisfaction and personal worth in feeling they can make it in life on their own steam, they develop a sense of dependency on external praise and motivation, all the while dealing with the understandable jealousy of siblings and peers, and being whispered about behind their backs.

If Cain and Abel is a story about divine favoritism, it’s an object lesson in how not to parent. And God doesn’t come out of it looking very good. Who could really blame Cain for killing his brother, considering the way God treated him compared to his brother?

Cain and Abel are adults, not children

Okay, here’s a reality check:

Cain and Abel are not children. They’re grown adults. And even if God did play favorites with them, that’s still no excuse for Cain to kill his brother.

Keep in mind that Cain and Abel had parents who raised them: Adam and Eve. By the time this story starts, they’re grown men. Each is engaged in a profession: Cain is a farmer, Abel is a shepherd. God is more in the role of an overseer or boss than a parent.

Now, if you’re on the job site, and your boss points out a fellow employee’s work and says, “I like the way he’s doing it; I don’t like the way you’re doing it,” how would you respond to that?

Sure, you could get mad at the boss and jealous of the coworker. But that would be a childish response. Even if you think your boss is annoying and abrasive, that your boss likes your coworker better, and so on and so forth, the important thing to realize is that your boss is giving you information about how to do your job well. And since you’re working for your boss, she or he has every right to tell you how to do the job.

In fact, the most constructive response is to thank the boss for helping you do your job better, pay attention to how your coworker does it, and do it the same way yourself. This will avoid a lot of nasty workplace conflict and jealousy, not to mention getting you points with the boss for being willing to take direction and do the job the way the company wants it done.

Unfortunately, though Cain was a grown adult, he responded in a childish and irrational way to the direction that he could have received from God if he’d been willing to listen.

If we think of Cain and Abel as thinking, self-responsible adults, and of God as their “boss,” the story starts to make a little more sense even on the literal level.

Let’s look at the story more closely.

Why did God accept Abel’s offering, but not Cain’s?

Since the story of Cain and Abel is so compact, covering only sixteen verses (plus a little more about what Cain did next), it’s important to read it very carefully, and pay attention to every word in order to wring out the maximum meaning.

Of course, it also helps to have some awareness of ancient Middle Eastern cultural and religious practices. Though the story of Cain and Abel is set in pre-literate times, it was, of course, written much later, after written language had been developed. Before that, it would have been passed down as an oral story, changing and adapting to the changing cultures in which it was passed down. And even after being written down, stories go through revisions and adaptations to fit different cultures and circumstances.

For example, Cain was the first person in the Bible story to have offered a sacrifice to God, before any rules had been laid out about proper and improper sacrifices. However, as the characters of Cain and Abel were developed through the oral storytelling process in cultures in which sacrifices were a regular part of life, their actions took on the characteristics of those later practices so that the listeners could understand the deeper, human message that the story had to offer.

With that in mind, let’s look at the differences between Cain’s offering and Abel’s.

The first thing we notice is that Cain, being a farmer, brought a plant offering, while Abel, being a shepherd, brought an animal offering. Later, when we get to the deeper meaning of this story, this difference will become quite significant. But as a literal story, the fact that one brought plants to God and the other brought animals is not grounds for God to reject the one and accept the other. Ancient peoples commonly offered both plants and animals to their gods—and the ancient Hebrews were no different in that regard. Both plant and animal offerings are described in the Bible as pleasing to God.

If it wasn’t that, then what was the critical difference between the two offerings?

This is where it’s important to pay close attention to the exact words. Here are the two offerings:

Cain brought to Jehovah an offering from the fruit of the ground. (Genesis 4:3)

And:

Abel, he also brought from the firstborn of his sheep, their fat portions. (Genesis 4:4)

Do you notice the difference? Cain’s offering sounds rather . . . ordinary. Abel’s offering sounds lavish! That’s especially so when we realize that unlike today’s overfed, fat-conscious Western cultures, in most ancient cultures foods rich in fats and oils were seen as the most sumptuous fare. In the Bible, “fatness” is a synonym for wealth and luxury.

Also, notice that Abel brought from the firstborn of his sheep, whereas there is no parallel in Cain’s offering of bringing the first-fruits of the ground.

In the ancient cultures, people were not supposed to bring just any old ordinary fruits, grains, and animals to their God. For the gift to be acceptable, it had to be the best of what they had to offer. And the first of their harvest, as well as the firstborn of their flocks and herds, was to be offered to God, before people started gathering in what they would use for themselves or sell to others.

Why did God have regard for Abel’s offering, but not for Cain’s?

Abel brought God his best, and put God first. With his offering, Abel richly thanked and honored the God who had given him life, health, wealth, and wellbeing.

Cain just brought whatever ordinary produce he had on hand. Was that any way to thank the One who gave him his very life, and made his crops to grow, flourish, and bear fruit?

In short, God accepted Abel’s offering because it was offered out of a heart full of gratitude. God did not accept Cain’s offering because it smacked of being a half-hearted effort to curry God’s favor.

This becomes even clearer if we think of God as not being “just a slob like one of us,” but as being the all-knowing, infinitely wise God.

What if God’s not one of us?

Consider this statement in 1 Samuel 16:7:

God doesn’t look at things the way humans do. Humans see only what is visible to the eyes, but the Lord sees into the heart.

If we think of God as being . . . well . . . God, who isn’t distracted by outward appearances, but who sees what is in the human heart, the picture of Cain as making a half-hearted and probably self-promoting effort becomes even stronger.

If God really is all-knowing and infinitely wise, then God is not playing favorites like an inept human parent, nor even playing the boss card to get Cain to give the right kind of sacrifice.

Further, God is not hosting a competition between Cain and Abel. God is also all-loving—meaning that God loves everyone equally, saint and sinner alike.

This means that God’s words and actions toward Cain came both from a deep understanding of what was going on in Cain’s mind and heart, and from a deep love for Cain’s eternal soul.

Let’s take another look at the Cain and Abel story with that in mind.

What is pleasing to God?

First of all, God does not need our offerings. God is infinite and eternal, and needs nothing from us. God wasn’t concerned with whether Cain made his offering in the “proper” way.

Micah 6:6–8 explains what God really wants:

With what shall I come before the Lord
and bow down before the exalted God?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?
Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
with ten thousand rivers of olive oil?
Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.

God is much less interested in the quality of the offering than in the quality of the heart from which the offering is given. That’s why God had regard for Abel’s offering, but not for Cain’s.

What was in Cain’s heart and mind?

Here are two different angles on Cain’s state of mind and heart from the Epistles in the New Testament:

By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain’s. Through this he received approval as righteous, God himself giving approval to his gifts; he died, but through his faith he still speaks. (Hebrews 11:4)

We must not be like Cain who was from the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous. (1 John 3:12)

The writer of Hebrews, by contrast with the faith embodied in Abel’s offering, points out that there was a lack of faith in Cain’s offering. John points out that Cain was influenced by evil, which was expressed in evil actions compared to Abel’s righteous actions. In other words, these Epistles point out that it was Cain’s inner state as expressed in his outer actions that were the cause of God having no regard for his offering.

We’ve already looked at how Cain’s offering was nothing special, while Abel gave his best. This is one indication in the text itself that Cain’s offering was not given from the best motives.

If there were any doubt about this, Cain’s reaction to God having no regard for his offering fairly shouts out that Cain was thinking more of himself than of God with his offering. Cain “was very angry, and his face fell.” And when God tried to tell him that he needed to take stock of himself and change his attitudes and his actions, instead of listening to God, Cain “had words” with his brother Abel (as some translations interpret the incomplete sentence that occurs in the Hebrew here), and killed him.

God, who sees into the human heart, knew that Cain had little interest in showing real gratitude to God or in showing love and compassion for his brother. The fact that Cain brushed aside God’s plea to turn his mind and heart around shows that Cain was settled and determined to express the evil in himself rather than the good that God knew was there. And the fact that he went on to murder his brother, who had done nothing at all to harm him, shows that he had self-pity, jealousy, and evil in his heart.

Given Cain’s state of mind and heart, we can see why God had no regard for Cain’s offering. It was an offering for show, which did not come from a loving, thoughtful, and grateful heart.

(For a long, detailed analysis of the Cain and Abel story from the perspective of a Jewish Rabbi who has carefully studied the Hebrew text, see “The World’s First Murder: A Closer Look at Cain and Abel,” by Rabbi David Fohrman. The link is to the final installment. To read the full article from the beginning, scroll to the bottom and follow the links at the end of the article in reverse order.)

The Cain and Abel in us

What does all of this mean for us, in our own spiritual journey?

Of course, the general lessons from the various ways of reading the story that we’ve covered still hold true:

Favoritism is not a good idea!

If your boss critiques your work, don’t get mad! Use it as an opportunity to improve your performance.

The real quality of our actions is determined by the quality of our inner motives and attitudes.

Yet since the Bible is God’s Word, it holds even deeper insights for us. For the final layer of the story that we’ll consider here, let’s look at just a little of the deeper, spiritual meaning it offers us as a light for our own spiritual path.

This is where it becomes very significant that Cain brought a plant offering to God, while Abel brought an animal offering.

The animals offered in the ancient sacrifices are warm-blooded, living beings that move around and do things in response to the instincts and desires they feel.

Plants of the field and garden, on the other hand, do not generate heat of their own. They are rooted in one spot, and do not have any feelings or conscious life.

Of course, God wants us to offer both our hearts and our minds to the service of God. That is why both animal and plant sacrifices are presented in the Bible as pleasing to God. But which does God want most?

Does God want an intellectualized “faith” that we don’t feel in our heart, and therefore don’t act on in our lives?

Or does God want us to offer our heart, which will bring both our head and our hands along with it?

Spiritually, Cain’s lukewarm plant offering represents a belief in God that is only a “head trip,” and does not cause us to actually love our neighbor and live with kindness and compassion.

Abel’s lavish animal offering represents going “all in” for God, from our heart through our heads and into our hands. It is a heart-centered faith that involves actively loving God and serving our neighbor, as Jesus Christ taught us to do:

One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:35–40)

Does God play favorites? No, God loves every one of us equally—and more deeply than we could ever imagine.

But God does have a favorite part of us: God wants our heart first. When we have offered that to God, as Abel did symbolically through his heartfelt offering, then all the rest of us will be a beautiful gift to God as well.

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Lee Woofenden is an ordained minister, writer, editor, translator, and teacher. He enjoys taking spiritual insights from the Bible and the writings of Emanuel Swedenborg and putting them into plain English as guides for everyday life.

Stop rationalizing and face the truth: If there is a god, he she or it does not love everyone equally. Life in this earth is driven either by dumb luck or worse, divine favoritism. I vote for luck–the quantum ping pong balls interacting

Certainly that is one way to look at the universe. And if all we are is quantum ping pong balls interacting, then there would certainly be no fairness in the universe.

But God is not constrained by quantum physics. The spiritual universe operates by different laws than does the physical universe. And on the eternal timescales of the spiritual world, under God’s providence, I do believe there is fairness even if it may not be apparent while we’re still living here on earth.

God most certainly does play favorites and this is why I no longer serve him. He’s been nothing but a giant disappointment since I became a christian, and I can no longer devote my life to such a biased, partial creator. If he wants to send me to hell, so be it. I won’t be manipulated by god-imposed fear.

It makes sense how atheists don’t believe in a creator. But what is it when you believe in a creator and you believe in his sacrifice, but you just think god sucks and is a hypocrite? What “sovereign” god sits there and lets innocent children starve and perish, then sits there and blames a “fallen world” and “bad people” and “best interests” for his inaction and unwillingness to help those who cannot help themselves? This is a god I can neither respect nor worship.

Thanks for stopping by, and for your comment. I can certainly understand your frustration and disappointment in the Christianity that you have encountered. Please be aware, though, that not all Christians think that way.

For example, the form of Christianity that I believe in rejects the idea that God sends people to hell. Instead, if there is a hell, it’s because the people themselves insist on being there. See my article, Is There Really a Hell? What is it Like?

Of course, it’s entirely up to you whether or not to believe in God. I would simply suggest that before you reject God altogether, you look for the best views of who and what God is, rather than settling for some of the poorer concepts of God out there.

And if you do in the end choose to become an atheist, from my perspective, even that does not bar you from heaven. See my article, Do Atheists Go to Heaven?

I am a bit shocked by the original post: yes, I hope most of us are VERY different from Cain. Let’s replace “God” by “Chance” or “Luck”: some people are luckier, it doesn’t give us the right to be jealous and to go murder them, they’re not responsible for our own lack of luck. We would all like to be equally loved by God / Fate / Luck, whatever you want to call it, but we’re not, it doesn’t give us an excuse to go murder the lucky ones.
I very much like Steinbeck’s use of the myth and his interpretation of Timshel (Thou Mayest instead of Thou Shall or Thou Must), it indeed puts the ball into the man’s hands and reminds me of French Existentialism in this particular aspect. I like when people do the right thing not because they must, or because they fear some divine wrath or in hope of some final reward, but because they chose to on their own free will.

According to you, I might not qualify as an atheist because doing good to mankind is my main goal in life and I have been raised as a humanist. However, I do not believe in God as a conscious being handing out laws of morality. I believe in God as the universe: a cold place without feelings, creating and destroying planets, stars and life without any conscience. Neither good nor bad. No hell, no paradise, no survival of the soul if it really exists anyway. I think morality is a human invention, the best one, which separates us from the beast: the power of compassion which no other being has on earth except us. I do good not because I could be rewarded by going to paradise or to avoid a punishment in hell, I do it because it gives me pleasure and it is above all a logical thing to do: otherwise the world cannot exist, it would be a jungle coming quickly to an end (which it unfortunately does feel like sometimes). It also feels so natural to help the one who is crying, and so painful to see somebody suffering. A recent study shows that babies get more satisfaction by giving rather than by receiving. What extraordinary potential to do good, and there is no religious belief in them yet. More amusingly, I like to prepare myself for the worst (hence my dark picture) and I am confident that if after all there was a god, he would forgive my ignorance and my doubts, since in any case, I’m doing all my best to make this world a better place in my own little way. Again, I do not believe in the divinity of Jesus and I have no opinion about him having ever existed or not: I still love his ideas.

I appreciate your open-mindedness and I hope this hasn’t completely bored you!

Thanks for stopping by, and for your expressing your thoughts and beliefs here. Of course, by the modern definition you are an atheist because you don’t believe in God. But from my perspective, no, you’re not an atheist in the sense of being alienated from God because you love darkness and evil—which is what the Bible means by “not believing in God.” For more on this, see my article: “Do Atheists Go to Heaven?” (if you haven’t already).

Of course, as a believer I’d be happy to see you come to a belief in God. But if I had to choose between that and a person living a good and caring life toward his or her fellow human beings, I’d choose the good life, and let the belief in God come later. Unlike the majority of Christians, I think you’ll be fine when you experience the ultimate surprise and wake up in the spiritual world after you die. 🙂

Of all the complicated question of why one gift is better than the other or the heart/ motivation in which the offering is made is; I think there is no right answer, and the devout Christian will use all means to justify that God is right ( as would a MIchael Jackson fan from his fan club). Since there is no evidence ( unlike Michael Jackson’s case) to prove either way, you can say all you like.

The main point is this:-
1. Cain cares enough to be jealous, even if it is jealous for love and that drove him to do something silly.

So the main lesson of Cain and Abel is not about relationship with God, because if God is a poor parent, well there is plenty of that to go around, and that is life. The question is how TO DEAL with similar situations in our lives, whether the object of our jealousy is God or NOT God.

First
1. Cain has to ask God:- where is it that I lack? Can I perform better next time and how? Then he should deliver his target, and await feedback. Life is like X Factor, Simon Cowell can say whatever he wants because he has the power to give you a record deal, and God is very similar.

2. If he cannot achieve that, then he has to ask: If I have to settle for second best, what can I gain from being second best? Can I cosy up to Abel and get some of the benefits he gets from God/ or whoever? Strategy of mutual benefit, what can I offer Abel to profit from his favour with God?

3. If the above fails and Abel proves to be selfish unwilling to share his success, then Cain has to ask:- How do I operate and function even if I were to be on my own? I do not want to aggress God nor Abel, as they hold the upper hand. What is it that I truly need that I need from these two, are there alternative avenues for obtaining them?

4. If I were unable to achieve 3, can I survive without eliminating the competition, as it would involve dirtying my hands i.e. can I live without it.

Love you see, should not be so much work, and should not involve favouritism at any level. Unfortunately life is life. We have to learn coping strategies to deal with nastiness, even if it is at the whim of someone powerful.

Just wondering: Did you actually read the Cain and Abel story, and the above article about it? Some of your scenarios here are already dealt with in the article.

It is true that Cain could have gone through the flow chart you present.

But that’s not what he did.

Instead, he got jealous and killed his brother.

God didn’t foment that. In fact, God tried to get Cain to examine himself to see why his sacrifice was not acceptable. His subsequent actions showed exactly why his offering was not acceptable, as discussed in the article.

To use the “boss” example from the article, put yourself in the position of being a store manager and having two employees:

One employee shows up on time, works hard, is friendly and helpful to customers, and continually learns and improves on the job.

The other employee wanders in late, loafs around at every opportunity, passes customers off to other employees, and generally resists learning anything new or taking on any unfamiliar tasks.

Is it favoritism to reward the first employee with a promotion and a raise, and put the second employee on notice that if job performance doesn’t improve, the employee will be fired? Good managers work to improve employees, just as God remonstrated with Cain in an attempt to get Cain to fix the problems in his heart that caused his sacrifice not to be acceptable. But in the end, it’s the employee that has to shape up or ship out.

Cain didn’t shape up, so God “fired” him by exiling him from his native land.

In the end, we humans must bear responsibility for our own thoughts, attitudes, and actions.

1. If God exists, all the same, all the better?
2. If God does not, then I would still be able to act the same.

I do not think anyone is ever able to prove that God exists, so why then force ourselves to believe in it, or to disbelieve it? We can hold a neutral stance.

The Christian answer to that is because the Bible says so and so….. but really, there are so many religious texts, how can you judge that one book is better than the next and on what grounds? So the Bible says so and so….. really carries no more weight than the bible of Scientology.

Both have equally dubious explanation of the genesis and role of human kind and both refuse to admit they are wrong when presented with evidence otherwise. They both then draw inferences on how humans should behave based on these assumption.

Why not jettison all of these assumptions and ask the simple question:-
1. What would I do if I do not know either books or either version of Gods?
2. Can I do so in a morally acceptable way without reference to God, and we know we can, Christianity has existed only well slightly more than 2000 years, many eastern religions have brought harmony and community to humankind well before. If indeed they all went to Hell, then Hell must have a housing problem.

Of course, it’s entirely your own choice whether or not to believe in God.

However, you are making some assumptions about Christianity in particular, and religion in general, that I do not share. Rather than writing a lengthy response, I’ll refer you to a few articles here that address some of your issues and questions, and the overall matrix of reality in which they exist:

There are more articles I could refer you to, but these are the most on-point for the issues you raise in your comment. If, after reading them, you have more questions or would like to engage in further discussion, please feel free to comment again.

I was just having this debate with a fellow Christian friend the other day, and I absolutely love this article. It gave us both some clarity to the story of Cain and Abel. I just love your entire blog on Christianity and spirituality in general!!